


The Journey

by Demonized



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Divergence, M/M, Post-TEW1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:01:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24665047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demonized/pseuds/Demonized
Summary: MOBIUS had descended upon Beacon the instant Jimenez had flipped the switch against their orders, a futile attempt to stake control over the situation and no doubt monitor what they could of the world he had created within STEM. They had critically underestimated the situation they had put themselves in by not scrapping the project entirely, so eager to have the control they sought over the world. It was evident in the fact that they had only sent that damnable woman, a mere peon, in to retrieve Leslie. They had known that he was in there, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, for the moment that he could escape.
Relationships: Sebastian Castellanos/Ruben "Ruvik" Victoriano
Comments: 9
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

His first breath of actual air in who knows how long is met with a violent coughing fit as the body he has commandeered jolts upright. Pain dances across his neurons with each choking breath in a way that he hasn't experienced in the twenty-seven years prior to MOBIUS' abduction and eventual killing of his personage. It is…invigorating and, in a way, delicious. He craves more of the feeling, to revel in it, study it and how it affects him, but his situation is too precarious for such frivolities.

MOBIUS had descended upon Beacon the instant Jimenez had flipped the switch against their orders, a futile attempt to stake control over the situation and no doubt monitor what they could of the world he had created within STEM. They had critically underestimated the situation they had put themselves in by not scrapping the project entirely, so eager to have the control they sought over the world. It was evident in the fact that they had only sent that damnable woman, a mere peon, in to retrieve Leslie. They had known that he was in there, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, for the moment that he could escape.

Hands grasp at his arms none too gently, or is it that he is more acutely aware of tactile sensations now that he has a fully functioning somatosensory system? The saline solution he is partly submerged in sloshes as the two men in prophylactic suits pull him out of the Terminus port. He is just barely able to make them out as he squints against too bright lights, his coughing having finally subsided. It seems that he is hypersensitive in more ways than one.

The floor feels like glacial ice to his bare feet, something he needs to tolerate as he is nearly dragged between the low level MOBIUS agents out of the room. He manages to get his feet moving of his own accord, his gait that of Leslie's awkward shuffling. The hair on the back of his neck prickles as the woman, Kidman, gazes after him with a small amount of suspicion. The woman next to _her_ pays him no mind whatsoever, and he dares to risk a glance in their direction before he is made to completely leave the STEM hub.

Myra Castellanos née Hanson's profile is unmistakable, and for one inexplicable moment the idea that maybe Seb had been a MOBIUS sleeper agent passes through his mind. It is immediately thrown out on the basis that the detective doesn't fit MOBIUS' criteria for their employees, sleeper agent or not. They preferred the cold and analytical, much like himself. Still, that begs the question of what the woman he had seen in Seb's thoughts is doing with MOBIUS.

As much as it vexes him to not know he doesn't have the time to draw up any scenarios that would explain Myra's presence, not if he wants to make his escape from MOBIUS' grasp once and for all. He doubts that there will ever be a better time to do so than now, when MOBIUS is still trying to get a handle on the situation and are currently unaware of his identity, and so he strikes at the first opportune moment—the instant the elevator doors close behind him and his escorts.

He is still connected to STEM, rather it to him, and he uses this to his advantage, drawing on it to take care of his escorts. They let go of him to grasp at their heads with short lived cries of pain before immediately crumpling to the ground, their consciousnesses whisked away into a world of his making. It is an assured death sentence for them, their minds not even on par with Kid's, and they are consumed quickly. Weak as they are they still bolster him, feeding his power and extending his reach just a bit more.

The corners of his mouth twitch upwards into a vicious smirk as he glances at the corpses, useless bags of meat without their minds, and then he flexes his powers once more. Smug satisfaction blooms as the elevator gives a jolt then begins traveling upwards, absconding with him to Beacon Memorial's main floor.


	2. Chapter 2

Such power is not without it costs, a lesson he learns over the following hours he spends evading MOBIUS in the halls of the hospital. He is successful in this endeavor, and his freedom has never been closer, but by the time they are finally forced to clear out without him—strangely without Sebastian, he notices—he is both physically and mentally exhausted.

The price is well worth the effort, he reasons as he takes his first step outside and finds the Krimson City Police Department milling around, forming a perimeter. Any one of them could be with MOBIUS, stragglers left behind to report back to the higher ups, so he adopts Leslie's mannerisms as a few officers approach him.

"Must be one of the patients," an officer says as they start to usher him over to an ambulance.

"One of the patients," he parrots, wringing his hands together while he hunches his shoulders. He flinches away from the officer that gets too close to him, giving an inarticulate whine as he does so, and stops halfway across the car littered drive. "No! No! No!" he cries out as he hunches over and grasps at his head.

The officers back away from him in a panic, one grabbing for the gun on his belt, and they regard him warily. It takes a minute for them to relax, likely concluding that he must be having some sort of panic attack, hopefully solidifying that he is harmless in their minds.

"Hey! What's going on out here!" A familiar voice calls out from behind them, from the doors of the hospital he had just left minutes before, and a strange emotion sweeps through him. Sebastian is alive, though it's puzzling as to why MOBIUS would leave the detective behind.

Well, this changes things. For him and his revenge against MOBIUS.

"Castellanos, is that you?" One of the officers by him calls out, and he quiets down as Sebastian jogs over.

"Yeah, Vankirk, it's me," Sebastian responds wearily and he can feel the detective's gaze stopping on him. "Leslie?"

There's a touch of uncertainty to Sebastian's voice that's enough to convince him that the detective is suspicious of his identity, just like Kidman had been, and had it just been the two of them he would have readily revealed himself to him. As it stands, he needs to continue with his charade and does so by lowering his hands and turning to face Sebastian. "Sebastian?"

The wary look that Sebastian is giving him vanishes, replaced by a relieved smile, and he nods. "Are you okay, Leslie?"

"Leslie is okay," he says softly as he straightens up his posture just a little then shuffles over to Sebastian. The other officers seem to take this as a sign to back away, with the exception of the one called Vankirk, leaving them be. "Leslie go home now? Take the train all the way home?"

His words seem to strike a chord within Sebastian, causing the detective to flounder for a few seconds before guilt flashes across his face. He looks towards Vankirk and then back towards him before motioning Vankirk aside. "Let's get you looked over first while I talk to Lieutenant Vankirk, okay?"

"Okay," he says even though he knows that Sebastian is attempting to stall giving _Leslie_ a proper answer. He lets himself be taken over to the ambulance by one of the officers that Sebastian calls for and subjects himself to the paramedic's scrutiny without too much of a fuss while he watches the detective and lieutenant talk. No doubt about Leslie's situation and what to do about him.

The solution is a simple one as far as he is concerned, which is to put him under Sebastian's care. He's already started laying the groundwork to make it seem like the detective is the only one he is fully comfortable around, but he'll still need to convince Sebastian to take him in.

He doesn't have to wait long for the opportunity to present itself in Sebastian coming over to him, a grim expression on the detective's face. "Can I have a moment to talk to the kid?"

The paramedic acquiesces and leaves them to go see if there is anyone else that needs tending to, not that there'll be anyone else—MOBIUS is thorough in cleaning up their messes, Sebastian and himself notwithstanding.

Sebastian sighs heavily and runs a hand over his face once they're alone, his shoulders slouching slightly. "Look, Leslie-"

"Leslie Withers is no longer a concern for anyone," he cuts in and Sebastian gives a sharp flinch, his hand automatically reaching for his gun at the perceived threat that he poses to the detective. "It is unwise to cause a scene, Seb, especially when MOBIUS might be lingering."


	3. Chapter 3

Though he might not have a full grasp on the situation at hand, and certainly no inkling as to who this MOBIUS might be, Sebastian knows that Ruvik is right. He can't cause a scene here, at least not like this, so he stays his hand, clenching it into a fist while he settles for glaring at Ruvik instead. Ruvik, who is in Leslie's body and doing a fucking fantastic job of acting like he is Leslie. He should have known, had actually suspected but he had brushed off his suspicions only for Ruvik to prove them right. "What happened to Leslie?" He asks, his voice low enough so that only Ruvik can hear him.

"I will gladly answer any and all questions you might have, Sebastian, but only once we are well away from prying eyes and ears," Ruvik responds with an equally low voice while his gaze shifts away from Sebastian and to the Krimson City officers scattered about the area. "And I do mean we, as in both of us, together."

"I know what _we_ means " Sebastian grits out, and then he scowls at Ruvik. He doesn't like that Ruvik is not only evading the question but that he is also giving him a condition under which he _will_ answer it, as well as any other questions he definitely has. No, he doesn't like it at all, and he should walk away right now but he can't. "You'll tell me everything?"

"That is what I implied when I said I would answer any and all questions you might have," Ruvik answers with a hint of exasperation to his tone, and he shifts his gaze back to Sebastian. His expression is steely, and the corners of his mouth curve down into a severe frown. "But seeing as you need me to spell it out for you, _Seb_ : yes, I will tell you everything that I know and am aware of."

Sebastian bristles with anger at both Ruvik's response and his use of Joseph's nickname for him (yet again) before he swallows it down. He can't lose his cool over this and, to be fair, he _did_ just ask a rather pointless question. If anything, he deserves Ruvik's ire. "Fine. I'll get you out of here with me, though I don't really know how it is I'm going to do that."

Ruvik sighs heavily then gives Sebastian a look of incredulity, as if the solution for what needs to be done is obvious. "You take me in as your ward."

Sebastian blinks in surprise, not quite expecting Ruvik's solution to be what it is, then gives a slight shake of his head. "That takes time, and you wouldn't legally be allowed to stay with me until I'm granted guardianship over you, which I'm likely not even fit for."

"Under normal circumstances, you would be correct but I have the _means_ to make something like this happen more expediently, regardless of all of the finer details," Ruvik says rather dully and he gives Sebastian a meaningful look before his gaze moves past him. In the blink of an eye, he adopts Leslie's mannerisms, his shoulders hunching while he ducks his head and starts wringing his hands together. "Leslie go home with Sebastian?"

"Everything okay over here, Castellanos?" Vankirk, the apparent reason for Ruvik's sudden act, calls out from behind him as he approaches them.

"Yeah, everything's okay, Lieutenant," Sebastian answers with a glance at Vankirk over his shoulder. "I know it's not really procedure but I'm gonna take Leslie here home with me for the night. The kid's been through a lot and I figure a kind and familiar face might help him calm down."

Vankirk scowls, looking put out by the break in procedure, but before he can respond there is a brief and very familiar piercing ringing that has Sebastian grimacing slightly. It vanishes as quickly as it came and Vankirk seems to not have noticed it. "Okay, Castellanos, he's your responsibility from here on out. Now get off of my scene, will ya?" And he turns to leave them alone, just like that.

**Author's Note:**

> I've started up a discord server called The Desk! It's not fandom specific and meant to be a place for artists, writers and people who enjoy their works across various fandoms to come together. To get to The Desk simply go [here](https://discord.gg/jXZQDdf)


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